Save $$ Buying Airline Tickets at the Airport!

I thought I'd pass along a tip that I just discovered. You can save money on your airline tickets by purchasing them at the airport. I did this specifically with Spirit Air, but from what I understand, you can do this with other airlines as well.

I was investigating ticket prices online for our return to CSA in April 2013 and noticed a statement at the bottom of the web page that said something along the lines of "Prices are generally lower at the airport." So I Googled it and came to find out that one of the fees was a convenience fee for purchasing online. So I went to the airport and ended up saving $70 on two round-trip tickets! Hey... not a ton but when you have to pay all that extra $ for bags and such, every little bit helps!

Funny little tidbit of info as well... the base fair for our flights was $19 each way! Yes... only $19! HOWEVER, there are so many taxes tacked onto that that the total actually ended up at $370. So $294 in taxes and fees! Yeesh.

So if you're fortunate enough to live close to an airport, try it next time and let us know how it goes!

I fly almost every week for work, and I have to disagree with this strategy. Most flights are booked at over 88% capacity. It is rare to find more than a handful of empty seats. Therefore, an airline is going to charge a much higher fare for these few seats remaining. If you have ever had to book a last minute flight, in most cases these fares are outrageously expensive. What IVMCgill experienced is unique to Spirit and a few of the discount airlines. Because they have bare bones fares, a convenience fee for ordering on-line is tacked onto the fare. This is not the case with the legacy airlines. Maybe this is a good strategy for Spirit, but not for United, Delta, American, Alaska, Jet Blue, or USAirways.

BobandJudy... I think you misread my post. I'm not talking about last-minute booking. My flight is three months away. What I have found by Googling this online is that many people have saved by booking at the airport on all the major airlines. Again... not waiting until the day of your flight but just going there and buying your tickets as opposed to booking it online.

I think that you misunderstood the original poster's message. They (he / she?) is not saying to wait until the last minute. They are just saying to go directly to the carrier counter at the airport to purchase the tickets in advance. This will avoid the convenience fee for purchasing online. I will look into it when we book our flights for September.

OK, sorry, skipped over the part where the trip isn't until April 2013. Still, hope people keep in mind the time it takes to travel to the airport, paying for parking (or even finding parking at most larger airports), and standing in line at the airport. If you factor all that in, go for it!

I have found by Googling this online is that many people have saved by booking at the airport on all the major airlines. Again... not waiting until the day of your flight but just going there and buying your tickets as opposed to booking it online????

I guess that it depends where you live, it would not be worth it to me to pay $10 to park, ride the shuttle, stand in line and then do it again to leave.

I use google.com/flights to find good flights and then buy at the airlines website.

Short-term parking at most airports doesn't cost more than a couple bucks... or you could have someone drop you off and circle the terminal. If you check out schedules and go during a time when there aren't a bunch of flights leaving, there won't be a long line. This last time, I actually just popped over one terminal prior to departing on a different trip/airline. I save $70 on two tickets by purchasing them at the airport. That's worth it to me!

I have gone to the airport to purchase tickets with Southwest. This was years ago, maybe 12-13. The main reason I went was because I had a hand written voucher. The cost to book the flight (1 seat) we needed was about $75 cheaper at the airport than online. This was flying from Omaha to Phoenix. I am remembering the flight was about 1 month away.